Saturday, April 05, 2014

Writer's Inspriation: Where Karen Whiddon finds inspiration for her writing

PHS is delighted to have Harlequin Nocturne author Karen Whiddon visit and explain what inspires her.

What inspires me to write?Since writing is my full-time job and my sole
means of support, that in itself is motivation for me to sit down at the
keyboard.

But, since I think this question is
directed more towards what inspires each particular story, for me it’s the characters.Often I’ll be working on a book and a
secondary character will pop up and refuse to go away.For example, I was working on The Lost Wolf’s
Destiny, my Harlequin Nocturne that came out in September 2013, the hero’s
sister (believed dead, but held captive by a deranged step-father) and one of
the men who rescued her begged for their own story.In fact, they took over the last part of that
book and I had to do extensive rewriting before I could send it in.

I couldn’t wait to write their story and I
am happy it’s coming out now – in my April Nocturne, The Wolf Siren.

Since my first book was published in 1997,
I’ve published over 35 books.Each book
was inspired by something – that ever elusive idea had a spark.It might have been a story in the news, or a
TV show with a particular plot line that went undeveloped.

Scenery also fuels my muse.I love nature and can write sitting in my
swing in my suburban backyard or in a lawn chair out at our camper by the lake.

And finally music.For most of my books, I make an ITunes
playlist.I find Keith Urban, Tim
McGraw, and other very inspirational, LOL.Sometimes a word or a phrase or
a video – hello, Craig Morgan singing Wake Up Lovin’ You – catches my eye.When I find a song like that, I have an
annoying tendency to play it over and over until I know every single word.It puts me in a romantic, happily-ever-after
sort of mood.